Sunshine
by Permanent Rose
Summary: Emma gets a slushie facial, and Will's there to help her clean up. Fluff :D


_A/N: It's about time I wrote some mindless fluff :P_

_Takes place sometime early in season one--I find I'm missing Will and Emma's innocent interactions. _

_I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

It was not going to be a good day.

Emma had already woken up fifteen minutes late, and with her morning schedule already thrown off, her perfect hair flip had flopped, forcing her to wear her hair pulled back.

Traffic was more backed up than usual as she drove in to William McKinley High, and as she groped for her bag, climbing hastily out the car, her stocking snagged on the edge of door. She could hardly make herself glance down at her leg to examine the damage, and her breath caught in her throat as she saw a run that spanned form her calf to her thigh. She had just bought these stockings last week, and this with frustration of her already horrible morning was about to send her over the edge.

By the time she made it through the front doors of the school, she was too late to have her daily run-in with Will. She'd catch him at lunch, she assured herself, feeling a little bit better as she sat down at her desk, having a moment to finally take a breath.

The moment didn't last long. She was soon saddled with a sobbing freshman in her office, and Emma pushed a box of tissues toward the child, searching for the perfect pamphlet as the girl unloaded on her.

When the consoled student left her office, she accidentally knocked over the flower pot on Emma's desk, so Emma spent the better half of her morning vigorously scrubbing the soiled floor.

She hurried down to the faculty lounge as soon as the lunch bell rang, anxious to see Will and have _something _go right for her today. He had yet to arrive, so she searched for an empty table instead.

"Mind if I sit here, M&M?" She inwardly groaned as the shadow of Ken Tanaka's burly form cast over her.

"Actually, I'm kind of saving this seat for someone else," she muttered, scrubbing the grape she held thoroughly before popping it into her mouth.

"Who? Schuester?" Ken scoffed, plopping his lunch tray on the table. "He's in for Ms. Harley's class this period—I heard she had a breakdown in the middle of class today because her boyfriend broke up with last night. Figgins needs someone to watch the class until he finds a sub."

"Oh," Emma muttered morosely, reaching for another grape.

The rest of the period dragged on as Emma feigned interest in Ken's conversation about the football team's massive breakout of athlete's foot.

Her afternoon was booked with appointments, and by the time the day came to a close, she was exhausted.

As she headed down the emptying hallways, she failed to notice that she had walked right into Noah Puckerman's path until a blast of ice cold liquid hit her face.

"Oh, _shit_," Puck's voice echoed off the lockers. "Sorry, Miss Pillsbury. I meant to hit that Asian chick over there, not you."

By the time she managed to open her burning eyes, Noah Puckerman was gone, and she saw Tina Cohen-Chang scampering down the hallway in the opposite direction.

The icy fluid dripped down her face, the taste of cherry filling her lips. She stood in shocked silence, feeling the cold liquid seep through her clothing.

"Well, hello, Eileen," a much too familiar voice filled her ears.

She turned to see Sue standing before her, a power shake in hand. She paused to look at Emma's dripping form. "Decide your hair wasn't already red enough, carrot top?"

"Sue, I'm really not in the mood right now," Emma muttered through clenched teeth, rubbing her sticky fingers together as she slowly began to walk down the hallway, trying her best not to spread the mess.

Sue smirked, watching the pathetic display. "Well, I'd offer to help you, but seeing as I'm already late for my acupuncture appointment, wiping solidified fruit juice out of your hair would just be an inconvenience. But your lover boy might be willing to give you a hand—his perm would make an excellent mop, and he already has so much product in it that you wouldn't even need to use any soap."

Emma bit down on her lip, biting back a sob.

"Well, Erma, I've wasted enough of my precious time talking to you," Sue told her, leaving Emma as she strode down hall.

When Sue disappeared around the corner, Emma finally dared to breathe, a sob wracking through her as the culmination of each aspect of this horrible day finally came crumbling down on her.

"Emma?" She didn't need to look up to know who that lovely voice belonged to. "What happened?"

"I-I'm not r-really s-s-sure," she gasped for breath as she caught Will's concerned gaze. "Slushie…Noah Puckerman…" she couldn't even form a coherent sentence as another sob tore through her.

"Puck did this to you?" The anger is Will's voice was apparent as he said the words.

"Oh, not o-on p-purpose…h-he meant to hit someone else, but…but…" Another onslaught of tears broke her off.

"Here—let me help you clean up," Will gently told her, leading her toward the faculty restroom.

Once the door was locked, Will stood in front of Emma, scanning her body to assess the damage. "Well, we aren't going to be able to do much about your clothes, but we can wash your hair and face in the sink."

She nodded, watching graciously as he washed out the sink with soap before motioning for her to come over.

"Is it too hot?" he asked her as she gently lowered her head into the sink, letting the stream of water spill over her hair.

"No, it's perfect, Will," she told him, smiling up at him—her first smile of the day.

She let her tense body relax as Will's gentle fingers undid her hair tie and worked at her hair, softly caressing her scalp.

"You know," she told him, glancing up at his face, "I've had so many kids come into my office sobbing after they've had a slushie thrown in their face, but I never really understood just how terrible and humiliating it is until now."

He continued to run his fingers through her hair though the slushie syrup was long gone. "I can only imagine—whoever started this slushie throwing business must've never had one thrown in their face." He dabbed her face gently with a damp paper towel until there was no trace of the icy beverage left. "There you go," he told her, supporting her elbow as she rose from the sink, her stringy hair dripping on her shoulders.

"Thanks so much, Will," she told him, smiling graciously as she reached for her bag. "It's been, um, kind of a rough day, and it was nice to have someone be so kind."

"Anytime, Emma," he assured her as he held the bathroom door open for her. "I'm glad I could bring a little sunshine to your dreary day."

As they walked down the empty corridor together, Emma was surprised to find that she wasn't concerned about her dripping hair or her ruined blouse or the fact that she needed a shower desperately.

Bad days didn't seem so terrible when she had Will Schuester by her side.


End file.
